Filing-cabinet.



` PATBNTBD NOV. 19,` 1907.

0. L. SOLIE.

PILING CABINET.

APPLIOATION PILED APK. 27, 1907.

4 SHEETB-SBBBT'I.

&noma;

mn mmm: PErERs co., wAsnmaroN. o. c.

` PATENTED NOV. 19, 1907.

0. LV. SOLIE. FILING GABINET.

APPLIOATION PILBD na. 27. 1907.

4 SHBBTS-SHEET 2. v m

witnesses NORRIS FErERs ca. wAsHvarONp. c.

No. 871372. I PATENTED NOV. 19, 1907. 0. L. SOLIE.

FILING CABINET.

APPLIOATION PILED APE4 27, 1907.

4 SHEBTS-SEEET -3,

at onw,

.Ne. 871,372. PATENTED NCV, 19, 1907.

4 0. L. SOLIE.

FILING CABINET. APPLIOATION PILED APB.. 27, 9o'7.

4 SHEETS-SEEBT 4.

aw y atman,

OSCAR L. SOLIE, OF SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA.

FILING-CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 19, 1907.

Application filed April 27.190'7. Serial No. 370.675.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR. L. SOLIE, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Sioux Falls, in the county of Minnehaha and State of South Dakota, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Filing-Cabinets, i

of which'the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanye e ing drawing.

"filing drawers and cabinets used for filing My invention relates to improvements in y 1 vide a filing drawer orbox with an Operating planes indicated device which will not only serve as a means for Inoving it into and out of its casing and looking and unlocking it, but also control the follower or adjustable back end of the drawer or box so that said end may be simultaneously released from the drawer and locked to the casing or vice versa.

A stillfurther object of the invention is to provide a filing drawer or box with a follower or adjustable back end which may be locked toor held stationary in the casin" in which the drawer or box is movable so tliat the latter may be moved independent of it, while .the former is held stationary to permit the contents of the drawer or box to be either compressed or released..

l/Vith the above and other objects in View,

,which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists inthe novel features of Construction, combination' and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which 1 Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through one otthe draw ers of the filing eabinet,-showing said drawer in its closed and locked position, and the follower locked in said. drawer Fig. 2 is a similar View, showing the drawer partiallyout of the cabinet or casing and the follower locked to or held stationaryain the latter; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by the line 3--3 in Fi. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical transverse sections taken respectively on the by the lnes 4-4 m Fg. 1 and 5- 5 in Fg. 2; Fg. 6 is a detail section '(lrawer.

on the line 6--6 in Fig. 2; Fig; 7 is a perspective View of the cam or eccentric handle bar; Fi 8 is a perspective View of a portion of the follower and its latch or lock; Fig. 9 is a similar view of the keeper for said latch; F 10 is a perspective View of the extensble or sliding support upon which the drawer rests and is supported when in its open position; Fig. 11 is a detail view of the slightly modified form of follower; and Fig 12 is a detail View of the slightly modified form of the cam or eccentric handle bar.

The present embodiment of my invention is designed for filing legal folders, bills and similar papers and documents; and it comprises a suitable cabinet or casing 1 containing one or more of my improved filing drawers or boxes such as the one numbered 2. This casing or frane 1 may be of any suitable or preferred form and construction.

The sliding -drawer 2 comprises an open or slotted bottom 3, a stationary front end 4 and a suitable back end or follower 5. The preferred manner of constructing the bottom 3 consists in providing two longitudinal pieces 6 of Wood or .metal and uniting their rear ends by a metal cross plate 7 and their front ends by a similar but larger plate 8 to which the upright'front 4 is Secured. The plate S may', however, be omitted, in which case the front 4 is connected directly to the front ends of the strips or pieces 6. Secured upon the tops of the pieces 6 are metallic plates 9 which extend long'itudinally and have their opposing inner edges projecting inwardly beyond theinner vertical faces of the pieces 6, which latter are spaced apart, as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, to form a slot or longitudinal opening in the bottom 3 of the A longitudinally extending rod 10 is arranged upon each side of the (lrawer for the purpose of bracing the front 4 and also guiding the contents of the drawer and holding, the same in an uprght position between the front 4 and the follower 5. Each of the rods 10 has its forward end Secured to the provide 'for this purpose the extensible support 11 shown in Fig. 10.

sists of two parallel strips 12 upon which the This support conbottom pieces 6 slide and which in turn slide upon longitudinally extending guide or track strips 13 suitably arranged within the casing. It will be understood that for the strips 13 may be substituted any other suitable devices which will guide the eXtensible support. The strips 12 are connected together and spaced apart at their rear ends by a cross piece 14 and upon their front ends are depending stops 15 adapted to enter recesses 16 in the front portion or strip 17 of the casing When said eXtensible support is moved into the casing. The outward movement of said support may be limited by a stop pin 18 arranged on one of the guide or track strips 13 in the path of the cross piece 14, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, or by a stop device of any other suitable form. To prevent the eXtensible support from tilting when drawn out of the casing, I preferably bevel the opposing inner edges 19 of the guide or track strips 13 and bevel in opposite directions the ends of the cross piece 14: for sliding engagement with the beveled edges 19, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, but any other suitable means may be provided for accomplishing the same result. To prevent the drawer from tilting upon the support when it is drawn out of the casing, I also preferably bevel the inner edges 20 of the stops 12 and the opposing walls 21 of the longitudinal recesses in the bottom pieces 6 in which recesses said strips 12 slide, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The' follower 5 may be of any desired form and construction but, as illustrated, it com-. prises a inetallic part 23 having an upright portion or plate 24 to which a body 22 of Wood or other suitable material may be secure`d. If desired, however, the upright portion 24 may be made larger in which case the wooden part 22 may be dispensed with. The metallic follower 23 is preferably formed from a single plate of metal and has at its bottom adjacent to each edge rearwardly projecting and horizontally 'disposed feet 25 and a forwardly projecting tongue 26 preferably of substantially T-form. The feet 25 engage and slide upon the upper surfaces of the guide plates 9 and the tongue 26 has its longitudinal portion or neck 27 projecting through the opening between the plates 9 and its cross portion 28 slidably engaged with the bottom faces of said plates 9. While both the feet 25 and tongue 26 serve to maintain the follower in its upright position, said feet 25 may be dispensed with and the tongue 26 by being made of suitable length will be suflicient to accomplish this purpose. The tongue 26 is also adapted to serve as a looking member for holding the follower in an adjusted position or against longitudinal movement in the drawer, and it &71,372

accomplishes this purpose by being pressed upwardly against the bottom faces of the plates 9 by a cam or eccentric device, presently eXplained. The tongue 26 serves still further as a support for a looking device 29 by means of which the follower may be locked to the casing or cabinet for the purpose of permitting the front 4 of the drawer to be moved toward and from the follower to compress or release the contents ofthe drawer. If desired, the looking device 29 may be carried by any part of the follower other than the tongue 26 and while it may be in the form of apivoted or swinging catch of any description, I preferably make it in the form of a spring or resilient latch adapted to engage a keeper 30 suitably arranged upon the front portion 17 of the casing. The latch or catch 29 is here shown constructed of a single piece of resilient metal having one of its ends suitably Secured at 31 to the bottom of theportion 28 of the locking member or tongue 26 and its other end provided with depending flanges 32 so that it is of inverted U-form. These fianges 32 are provided with notches 33 for the reception of the keeper 30. The latter may be of any suitable form and Construction but as illustrated it comprises a right angular plate, the horizontal portion of which is Secured in the top of part 17 and the vertical portion of which is adapted to enter the notches 33.

While independent means may be provided for Operating the two looking mem bers 26, 29, I preferably provide a cam or eccentric device 34 which not only serves to simultaneously operate said looking members but also as a handle or Operating member for the drawer itself. This device 34 is in the form of a bar or rod of circular, oval or other suitable form in cross section having at its ends pivots or trunnions 35, 36, which are longitudinally alined or concentric with respect to each other, but eccentrically disposed with respect to the longitudnal aXis of the bar 34. The latter is arranged in the slot `or opening in the bottom of the drawer between the end plates 7, 8 and beneath the latch 29. The rear pivot 36 is mounted in a hearing aperture in the plate 7 and the front pivot 35 is similarly mounted. in the plate 8 and. the front 4. This pivot 35 carres a suitablehand piece 37 here shown in the form of a semi-circular loop formed by prolonging and bending said pivot. This mounting of the cam bar 34 permits it to be rotated, and its size and shape i's such that &71,372

bar will be turned downwardly to permit the latoh 29 and the looking tongue 26 to move downwardly. This downward movement of the looking tongue releases `or unlooks the drawer and the similar movement of the latch 29 brings the latter into the horizontal plane of the keeper 30 so that when the drawer is pulled outwardly said latoh may eng'age'sa'id keeper. Henoe it will be seen that When the handle is turned upwardly, the follower will be looked in the drawer and the latoh 29 held in an inoperative position; and when said. handle is swung dow nwardly the follower Will be released from its looked position in the drawer and thelatch 29 will be permitted to engage its keeper 30 to lock or hold the follower stationary in the front of the oasing. It Will be understood that the disposition of the cam portion of the bar 34 and the hand piece 37 with respect to each other may be such that thislocking and unlocking of said parts may be efl'eoted When the bar is turned to describe an aro of 'any size and when the handle is disposed at any other position or positions than the ones above mentioned.

To look thedrawer in its closed position in the casing I may provide any suitable lookingmechanism but I prefer the one illustrated which comprises a spring catch 38 of suitable form secured to the back 39 of the oasingtor to any other support within the latter and adapted to engage the rear cross plate 7, as shown in Fig. 1. This spring oatchvhas a shoulder 40 to engage the inner or forward face of said plate? and an incline leading up to said shoulder for the purpose of guiding the ca'toh and swinging it down- Wardly so that the shoulder 40 may engage said plate. This catch is adapted to be retraoted by the' cam portion of the bar 34 and it is so shaped that when said portion of said bar` is` swung downwardly it will depress the catch and lower the shoulder 40 out of engagement with the plate 7. Thus it will be seen that the bar or element 34 and its attached handle 37 serves as a means for moving the drawer into and out' of the casing, looking and unlooking the drawer and simultaneously looking the follower to the oasing and releasing it from the drawer or vice versa.

In Fig. 11 of the drawings, I have shown the follower oonsisting of a base portion 25 having the tongue 26 and the latch 29 and also an'upright 24 upon the top of which is pivoted at 22 a follower body 22 The latter is` adapted to swing 'torwardly and rearwardly and its rearward swinging movement islimited by a stop 22 while its for ward lmovement is limited by the engagement of its lower end with the uprights. As the drawer is pulled out this follower 22 w ill tilt to its inclined position shown in Fig. 11 and as the drawer is pushed in to compress the contents of the same, the said lollower 22 will be brought to its upright position by the contents of the drawe'r.

In Fig. 12 is shown a looking bar or element 34 having a longitudinal series of serrations or teeth 44 for the purpose of more efl'ectively retaining the follower in an adjusted position, as will be read ily understood.

As before stated, the embodment of the invention illustrated and described is especially designed 'for filing bills and the like, but it will be understood that it may be embodied in a cabinet or filing devioe of any description. lt will also be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise showing herein set forth and that various changes in the form, proportion, arrangement and details of Construction may be resorted to without'departin from the spirit or saorificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A filing device comprising a frame or oasing, a drawer, a follower in the latter, and means for looking said 'follower to the oasing.

2. A 'filing devioe comprising a frame or oasing, a drawer, a follower in` the latter, means for looking the tollower to said drawer, means for looking the follower to said casing, and means for actuating both of said looking means.

3. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or casing, a (lrawer, a follower in the latter, means *for looking the lollower to said drawer, means 'for looking the 'tollower to said casing and means for simultaneously throwing one of said looking means into operation and the other out of operation. i

4. A filing device co'nprising a franie or oasing, a drawer, a follower in the latter, means for looking the follower to said drawer, means for looking the follower to said casing and a cam or ecoentric device 'for actuating both of said looking means.

5. A filing devioe comprising a l'rame or casing, a drawer, a follower in tlie-lattcr, a looking member ior 'friotionally clamping the followcr to the drawer, a swinging looking member carried by the *follower `for cngagement with said easing and. a cam or ecoentrio device 'for simultaneously Operating said looking' members.

6. A filing device comprising a frame or casing, a drawer, a follower in the latter, a looking member for 'lriotionally clamping the follower to the drawer, a swinging looking member carried by the follower for engagement With said oasing, a bar mounted for rotary movement in said drawer, a cam upon said bar-"for Operating said looking members and a hand piece carried by said bar.

7. A I'iling device comprising a frame or oasing, a drawer, a follower'in the latter, a

looking tongue oarrierl by said folloWer and adapted to frotionally engage said (lraWer, a latoh oarred by said folloWer, a keeper for said latoh mounted upon said oasing, a oam bar for aotuating said latoh and said tongue and a handle upon said bar for aotuating it and for moving the draWer into and out of i the oasing.

8. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a draWer, a follower in the latter, a looking tongue oarriecl by said folloWer and adapted to triotionally engage said draWer, a latoh oarried by said folloWer, a keeper for said latoh mountecl upon said-oasing, a looking member oarriecl by the oasing 'for engagement With said drawer, and means for simultaneously Operating said looking member, said latoh and said tongue.

` 9. A filing clevioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a draWer, a folloWer in the latter, a looking tongue oarrecl by said follower and adaptecl to friotionally engage said drawer, a latoh oarried by said folloWer, a keeper-for said latoh mounted upon said oasing, a looking member oarried by the oasing for engagement With said draWer, and a oam or eooentrio devioe for simultaneously Operating said looking member, said latoh and said tongue.

10.- A filing devioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a draWer, a folloWer in the latter, means for looking the follower to the draWer, means for looking the folloWer to the oasing, means for looking the clraWer in the oasing, and means for simultaneously Operating the said looking means.

11. A filin'g devioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a draWer, a folloWer in the latter, means for looking the follower to the draWer, means for looking the folloWer to the oasing, means for looking the draWer in the oasing,

. and a oam or eooentro devioe for simultaneously Operating the said looking means.

12. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a clrawer, a follower in the latter, means for looking the folloWer to the draWer, means for looking the followerto the oasing, a looking'member oarried by the oasing for engagement With the draWer and an Operating member for simultaneously releasing said looking member and Operating said looking means.

13. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or oasing. a draWer. a follower in the latter, means for looking the folloWer to the clraWer, means for looking the draWer in the oasing and means for simultaneously Operating said looking means for the draWer and the folloWer.

15. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a (lraWer, a folloWer in the latter, means for supporting the draWer in its open position, a keeper oarried by the oasing, a latoh oarried by the folloWer for engagement With said keeper, -a handle rod or bar rotatable in the draWer and a oam upon said rod for Operating said latoh.

16. A filing clevioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a draWer, a folloWer in the latter, a .looking member oarried by the follower for friotional engagement With the drawer, a

` cam or eooentro for aotuating said looking member and means eXterior to the oasing and drawer for aotuating said oam or eooentrio, substantially as described.

17. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a drawer, a follower in the latter, a looking tongue oarriecl by the follower for friotional engagement With the drawer, a handle rod mounted for rotation in the draWer and a oam upon said rod for aotuatng said tongue.

18. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or oasing, a draWer, a follower in the latter, a sWinging latoh oarried by the follower, a keeper oarried by the oasing for engagement by said latoh and a oam or eooentrio devoe for aotuating said latoh.

19. A filing clevioe oomprsing a frame or oasing, a draWer having a slotted bottom, a tolloWer in the draWer, a tongue oarried by the folloWer to project into the slotted bottom and friotionally engage the same, a spring latoh oarried by said tongue, a keeper oarried by the oasing for engagement by said latoh, a handle rocl rotatable in the draWer and a oam upon said rod'for aotuating said latoh and said tongue.

20. A filing devioe oomprising a frame o'r oasing, a draWer having a slotted bottom, a 'folloWer in the draWer, a tongue oarried by the folloWer to project into the slotted bottom and friotionally engage the same, a spring latoh oarried by said tongue, a keeper oarried by the oasing for engagement by said latoh, a spring oatoh oarriecl by the oasing for engagement With said draWer and a cam or eooentrio rod rotatable in the draWer and adapted to 'simultaneously operate said oatoh, said latoh and said tongue.

21. A devioe of the oharaoter described oomprising a frame or oasing, a drawer therein, a movable looking member oarried by the oasing for engagement With said draWer a handle for said drawerand means aotuated by said hanclle for aotuating said looking member. a e

22. A devioe of the oharaoter described oomprising a rame or oasing, a drawer therein, a spring oatoh having a shoulder to engage said draWer and look it in said oasing, a handle rocl rotatable in said draWer and a cam upon said rod for engagement With said oatoh.

23. A filing devioe oomprising a frame or tuating said looking member and the tongue oasing having the guides 13, the sliding support, 11 engaged With said guides, means for limiting the outWard movement of said support the sliding draWer mounted upon said support and having a slotted bottom, the folu lower slidably arranged in said drawer, means for looking said follower in the latter and means for looking the follower to the oasing, substantially as described.

24. In a filing devioe, a drawer having a slotted or reoessed bottom and the follower 5 having the upright portion 24, the forwardly proje'oting tongue 26 and the supporting feet 25, the looking member 29 and means for ao- 26, substantially as desoribed.

25. In a filing devioe, a drawer, a followe' in the latter, the tongue 29 oarried by said followe'r and having depending fianges formed With notohes, the angular keeper plate 30, and a cam or eooentrio rod arranged in the drawer and extending through the looktonguo, substantially as described'.

n testimony Whereof I hereunto afx my signature in presence of tWo witnesses.

` OSCAR L. SOLIE. VVitnesses:

JAY A. HAND, M. BREINZER. 

